Tig and Mort have new “eco” leashes

Chewing an appropriate toy (kinda)... but he often perfers blankets. Much more interactive and rewarding than this tough tug toy!

Ropes4Dogs is a San Francisco Bay Area company creating dog leashes and toys, while simultaneously supporting great causes (like rescue). Last weekend I volunteered at a dog event in Palo Alto where Ropes4Dogs had a table set up – of course, I left with a couple of new leashes and a toy for Tig and Mort.

Mort with the tug

Ropes4Dogs sells hand-made dog products that are made out of recycled climbing gear. For every 3 items you purchase, they will donate a product to a rescue. Helping the environment while helping local rescue dogs? Bonus!

As for my new leashes and tug toy: the quality is excellent – they are all well made, and durable! They will be able to withstand a lot of wear and tear; Mort has been trying to turn the leash into a tug toy at this one particular part of our walk – and you wouldn’t be able to tell, the leash still looks like brand new.

Tug still looks like new

We’ve been trying to get Mort to get obsessed over a tug toy to help with Flyball practice (they run back to you with the ball, and you want them to lunge onto a tug toy) – we’ve been having difficulty finding a tug he will go insane over (and have all sorts – fuzzy, ones with balls, ropes of all sorts), but I think our search may be over. He LOVES this particular tug.

Mort likes to tug!

Mort doesn’t want to share!

Back off, cat!

Love the leashes too. I’ve been looking for a nice soft rope leash, and I haven’t yet found exactly what I’m looking for. Many of them have a hard foam handle on the end, but this doesn’t work with the way I grasp the handle. I loop the handle over my thumb, which is great for safety (if a dog suddenly bolts, this protects your wrist and shoulder — I’ve known many walkers to have these injuries if you wrap the handle around your wrist).

Loop around your thumb, and grasp the handle – protects the wrist and shoulder.

Leather leashes work well for this style, but you need to break them in. These rope leashes are perfect – soft, wrap around the thumb, more chew resistant, and no need to break in the leash. Even Mort wanted to take it for a spin, and took Tig for a walk one afternoon:

Tig and Mort recommend the toys, and thumbs up on the leashes too. Check out their table at a future event – you’re supporting local rescue, and going home with well-constructed “dog stuff”. You can also check out their online store here.

About Author

Jen deHaan is graphic designer, small business owner, and dog person living in Bay Area, California. Jen enjoys learning about dog training and behavior, and has taken several courses and seminars since 2010. She also contributes articles to leading websites, such as Victoria Stilwell's Positively . It all started with a great dog called Mikey (aka "dude"), loved and lost but remembered forever.
Jen also runs a freelance business focusing on graphic, web, and UI design at FoundPixel, and a small business creating hand crafted dog products at Stylish Canine.